Skylanders Short Stories: The Birth of Dark Spyro
by mpuppy4
Summary: With Kaos' ultimate plan falling into place, it's up to Spyro to defeat him. But when he falls into a trap, a new evil will awaken- an evil far too powerful for even the dark Portal Master himself can control. No pairing. Rated T for mild language. Five-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**_((HEYO!_ **This is the _fourth _Skylanders Short Story, and definitely the most important so far, plot-wise. So... I have legit nothing to say. Now you can read!))

* * *

**Chapter One**

"Okay, remind me what we're doing again?"

Just outside the entrance to the under hollow, Spyro, Trigger Happy, Sunburn and Stealth Elf were going over a task for the fifth time. Spyro sighed. "You have to open the elemental locks," he repeated himself. "and once you're inside the vault, you have to make sure that all of the Battle Items on that list are still in there."

"Aw, but that sounds _boring!" _Trigg whined.

Spyro rolled his eyes. "I'll let you play with the Sky Diamond when you're done."

"Really?!" Trigger Happy exclaimed, eyes bright. "Okay! I'll do it!"

Stealth Elf raised her hand. "You don't have to do that, elf girl," Spyro told her. "If you have something to say, just say it."

Blushing slightly, the ninja lowered her hand and stated her case. "Uh... I don't know how to read..." she pointed out. "Or write..."

"Oh, yeah..." Spyro said. "I forgot. Sorry, Stealth. You don't have to do this one."

Stealth bowed. "Thank you."

Sunburn watched her walk away, then slowly started to raise his hand. "I know you can read, Sunburn," Spyro stopped him. "You're not getting out of this that easily." The phoenix muttered something that couldn't be made out, but Spyro was pretty sure there was a curse word in there somewhere.

It had been a rule since the time of the Giants to check Battle Item inventory every two months. These powerful, magical items in the hands of the darkness could only lead to disaster. Much like the Skylanders themselves, Magic Items were passed down from Portal Master to Portal Master through the ages. And although the heroes have been holding up well on their own, Eon is still intent on finding a new Master to guide them.

If only he could find one with the powers of a Portal Master who hadn't turned to the dark side.

Speaking of _dark..._

* * *

Shadows. In the dark lair of Kaos, in place of his mighty throne, stood a tall machine. Eight capsules held eight items representative of each element. It was spiky, threatening, and... well, Kaos-y. Tall, sharp points rose from just behind each of the capsules, and there was a deep hole just next to it.

"Behold, Glumshanks!" the dark lord himself exclaimed. "The mechanism that will spell the Skylanders' **Ultimate Evil DOOM!"**

"Wow, sir!" Glumshanks seemed genuinely impressed. "It's looks even better than I ever could have imagined!"

Kaos cackled. "I know." So humble.

"So, what is it supposed to do?" the butler asked.

_"Supposed _to do?!" Kaos growled. _"Will _do!" He snorted. "If you must know, fool, I'm going to harness the power of the eight elements to create my own Skylanders!"

Glumshanks raised an eyebrow and scratched his head. "Um... I don't mean to burst your bubble, sir, but can't you already do that?"

Kaos paused, then nodded slowly. "Well, _yes, _but because they aren't genuine beings, they kind of... eh... what's the word?"

_"Suck?" _Glumshanks guessed.

Kaos sighed. "That's the one. But, this machine can take a person and clone _only _their dark side!"

"Is that even possible?"

**"Silence, Glumshanks!" **The troll rolled his eyes. "Now, allow me to demonstrate. _Oh Noodles! _Do come in here, won't you?"

The ice ogre rushed in at the sound of his master's call. "Y-Yes sir!" Noodles said. "What do you need?"

Kaos directed his servant to the center of the machine. "I need you to stand riiiiiiiight... here!"

"Okay..."

Kaos retreated back to where he had been standing before, pulled out a remote labeled "DOOM" and pressed the big red button. A fury of violet lightning generated at the tip of each of the eight tall spikes and electrocuted Noodles. Glumshanks flinched when he saw this.

When the electricity died down, mist floated up from the hole next to the machine, and a large glass capsule emerged. Kaos laughed and Glumshanks stared intently as the door to the unit opened and a silhouette stepped out. The mist cleared, revealing the shadow to be Noodles- only with a darker tone to him. "What the-" the original began, before being tackled by his doppelganger.

Glumshanks watched with a dropped jaw. "Wow!" he eventually exclaimed. "That's amazing! Uh, sir. Are you sure it will work on a Skylander, though? Aren't they protected by an, er, sacred force?"

"Screw the sacred force!" Kaos declared. "This machine will rip right through their magical aura."

There was a loud crash, and they flinched away. "Alright, but what if the clones are defiant?" Glumshanks asked. "Don't you have some way to destroy them?"

Kaos pointed to the remote, and Glumshanks noticed a second button. "All I have to do is press this button, and the clones will self-destruct."

Glumshanks nodded. "So for once you have a fail-safe, huh?"

Kaos sighed. "Yeah, the last two plans didn't go so well," he admitted. "But, there's no way this plan could possibly blow up in my face!"

"I recall you saying that about the fuzzball and the amnesiacs..."

**"Glumshanks!" **The troll sighed. "Now all I have to do is trick their dragon leader into coming here!"

"Why not send a letter?" Glumshanks suggested.

"Eh?"

He blinked. "You know, a letter!" Glumshanks said. "Okay, I'll do it for you."

"I'm pretty sure that's your job description."

* * *

Spyro was sitting outside the under hollow with a book titled "How to be the Most Awesomest Leader in the History of Awesomeness." As he turned the page, Stealth Elf came down the stairs looking exhausted. "Well, look who it is," Spyro said without looking up from his book.

Stealth grumbled and collapsed. That managed to get his attention. He poked her with his tail until she stood back up. "Stink Bomb makes us do the same stupid routine every single day," she complained. "I'm sick of it. He makes me do it five times."

"He probably just wants you to demonstrate for the boys," Spyro noted, looking back down at his book and flipping the page again. "They suck at it, don't they?"

Stealth nodded. "Well, yeah."

"I heard that Master Eon is going to start dropping us out of class if we've already completed training. I've been observing you, and your skills have improved drastically. You're probably the only competent one in your class, hm?"

Stealth blinked. "'Competent?'"

"Capable."

"Oh!" Stealth scratched her head. "Well, one doesn't like to toot their own horn..."

Spyro chuckled. "Except, apparently you."

"Hey!"

Sunburn and Trigger Happy (holding a clipboard) came back up from the hollow. "Everything is present and accounted for," Sunburn said. "And may I just say, we have _way _too much stuff."

Trigg tossed the clipboard over his shoulder. "So... can I play with the Sky Diamond now?!"

Spyro closed his book and laughed. "Sure thing, little bud!" he replied.

"Hooray!"

The three watched him rush back into the under hollow. "You don't even have to tell me," Sunburn said. "I'll make sure he doesn't break it."

"Good," Spyro said.

"Spyro, sir!" They turned to find that Hot Dog was leaping down to them. He was carrying a piece of paper by a strap around his neck. "We've received a telegram addressed to you, sir."

Stealth Elf, having opposable thumbs, took the paper. "Oh. I still don't know how to read."

"Let me see!" Sunburn took the paper from her and skimmed over it. "Hey, it's from Kaos!" he exclaimed.

"What? No way!" Spyro snatched it and read over it himself. "Hey, it is! He wants me to confront him personally at Kastle Kaos. Alone!"

Sunburn shook his head. "Well, you shouldn't do it!"

"It's probably a trap, sir!" Hot Dog said.

Spyro laughed. "Please, I can handle anything he can throw at me!" he proclaimed. "I'll be there and back and you'll never notice I left!"

"Right..." Stealth said. "Welp, don't hurt yourself."

Sunburn growled. "Are you supportive of anybody?"

Hot Dog whimpered. "Please, be careful sir..." he pleaded.

"Ah, don't worry about it!" Spyro flapped his wings and took off. "Sunburn's in charge!"

Sunburn smirked. "I'm always in charge."

Then Trigger Happy thumped up the stairs with the Sky Diamond. "Who wants to play catch?!"

Stealth and Sunburn exchanged glances. "He's totally gonna break it."

* * *

((Oh, I know what to say! They're literally making a tablet version of Trap Team. Because apparently, nobody with a tablet also has a gaming console.

Also, Trigger Happy is hilarious.))


	2. Chapter 2

((Apparently nobody could tell that was sarcasm in my last author's note.))

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Spyro, the mighty dragon of Magic he was, soared through the coulds above Skylands. The farther he flew, the darker it grew. Darker and darker, in the direction of Kastle Kaos. He was confident that he could take anything that the Dark Emperor had in store- perhaps _too _confident.

When the shady flying palace came into view, Spyro landed in front of the enormous, iron double-doors. Cautiously, he held up his hand (or whatever dragons have) and knocked. "Now what are you up to...?" he muttered.

Almost immediately after doing so, the huge (and inaccurate) hologram of Kaos' head appeared. **"Who goes there?!" **it boomed.

"Hiya, baldy," Spyro taunted.

The hologram scowled. **"Oh. You." **It disappeared, and a moment later, the doors slowly began to open. Spyro nodded, then bounded inside.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sunburn and Stealth Elf were discussing something with Trigger Happy. "...chewing, climbing, licking, eating..." Sunburn was saying with almost no space in between the words. "...kicking, shooting, exploding, and most importantly, throwing!" He then took a deep breath, and sighed. "And now that we've gone over everything that you _can't _do with the Sky Diamond..." Trigg looked anxious. "...you can go play with it now."

"Yay!" Trigg exclaimed, scooping up the Magic Piece and storming toward the training dummies.

"You think he's actually not gonna do that stuff?" Stealth questioned.

"No," Sunburn replied. "no I don't."

Stealth stretched, then examined her right hand. "Mph... I'm gonna go do something... important," she said. "Do me a favor and _don't bother me, _alright?"

Sunburn watched in confusion as she walked in the direction of Woodburrow's entrance, looked around, then completely disappeared. "She's definitely hiding something," he observed. He paused, then shook his head. "I shouldn't worry about it..." He glanced back to see the gates open and close on their own. "...not yet." As he wandered back over to where Trigger Happy was goofing around, he wondered aloud, "I wonder how Spyro is doing."

* * *

When he entered Kastle Kaos, Spyro was greeted by Kaos' throne room. "Looks like he did some remodeling." He looked around, realizing that he was the only one there. "Hello?" he called. No response. He shrugged it off, and approached the Portal sitting in the center of the room. Standing on his hind legs and leaning against the Potal for balance, he swirled his claw in the liquid. _Where is he?_

Suddenly, there was a "ding" noise that caused him to flinch. Kaos and Glumshanks stepped out of the elevator across the room. From the elevator emerged the lyrics,

"Make you laugh

"And then she'll make you cry

"Twist and tangle in her power

"All her enemies will cower!"

"Those Skylanders were right," Glumshanks said. "that elevator does play weird music!" Kaos ignored him and turned his attention to Spyro.

The dragon growled. "Hey, look what the troll dragged in."

Kaos smirked. "Same to you." He pulled out his "DOOM" remote and pressed a button. The Portal lowered into the floor, and a platform rose in it's place. "I would thanks you for coming..." the human claimed. "...but I don't 'thank' people."

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Spyro said. "So, why'd you call me here anyway?"

Kaos dismissed Glumshanks with a wave of his hand. "You see, dragon," he then explained. "I, Kaos, have conceived a plan so fiendishly _awesome _that it will not only conquer all of Skylands for me, but it will also permanently leave you and all the rest of your pitiful Skyloser friends in ruins!"

"Funny," Spyro laughed. "because I recall you saying that about the Hydra, and the Fist of Arkus, and the Evilizer, and-"

**"Silence, fool!" **Kaos cut him off. Spyro rolled his eyes. "Unlike my previous schemes, this one will not, in fact, end in a horrible heap of failing failure."

Spyro couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah right!" he exclaimed. "My friends and I have foiled every single one of your plans! We've destroyed all your weapons, defeated all of your minions, and ultimately defeated _you _three times now! There's _nothing _you can do at this point that we can't counter."

Kaos frowned. "Well this one is going to be different," he said. "This plan is perfect! Foolproof! It will go exactly as originally planned!" He paused, then gave a toothy grin. "...because you were stupid enough to answer my call and come here. Now that you're here, everything is falling into place. Because you see, dragon... _you _are the key in this scheme. _You _are going to help me take over Skylands by bringing this plan into motion!"

Spyro snorted. "Nice try, Kaos!" He leaped onto the platform in front of him defiantly. "If you think I'm gonna help you with some bull plan that will lead to my own self-destruction, your skull is more numb than a Bog Hog's!" Kaos didn't respond. He just stared and smiled eerily. Spyro raised an eyebrow. "Hey! You listening?"

"Oh, I'm listening," Kaos replied. He pressed the button on his "DOOM" remote again, and this caused two metal rings to pop out of the platform and latch onto Spyro's hind ankles.

"Oh, $&%#," the dragon grumbled. "I can _not _believe that I just fell for that."

* * *

"Weeeee! Diamonds!" Trigger Happy was cheerfully watching gems burst out of the Training Dummies as he blasted them with his guns. He whipped out his turret and fired rapidly at them.

Sunburn rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Trigg," he chuckled. "Are you ever _not _insane?"

"Insane is good!" Trigg exclaimed. "Insane is fun!" He laughed crazily while still continuing his antics.

Sunburn shook his head. "Whatever you say, pal. I'm gonna go talk to Tessa." He started to leave, then stopped and called back, "Put that thing back when you're done!"

"Fine..."

Sunburn walked past the enchanted pool and approached Tessa and Flynn, who were arguing about something... like they do every single day. "Hiya, uh, Tessa?" the phoenix interrupted.

"What?" They turned their attention to Sunburn. "Oh, sorry Sunburn," Tessa apologized. "What's up?"

"I just figured I should tell you that Spyro went out," Sunburn responded. "He left me in charge."

"Well, good for him!" Flynn said. "What's he up to? Fightin' some evil-doers?"

Sunburn blinked. "Well, I don't really know what he's doing," he replied. "Hot Dog gave him a message from Kaos, so he went to go confront him."

Flynn and Tessa exchanged glances. "Is that safe?" the Mabu questioned.

Sunburn scratched his head. "Come to think of it, he's been gone a while..." He paused, then instructed. "Do me a favor and tell Drobot that he's in charge. Trigger Happy and I are gonna go investigate."

"Sounds like a plan!" Tessa replied as he flew away.

* * *

Kaos plopped down on his throne, laughing maniacally. "Oh, this is too perfect." The rest of the machine rose up around Spyro as he struggled to escape. "And it's not even my birthday!"

Spyro snarled. "What the hell is this thing?!" he exclaimed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kaos blatantly replied. "It's your _doom."_

With that, the button was pressed once more and. Volt upon volt upon volt of violet lightning snaked up the eight lanky spikes and merged at the tips. It then rained back down upon Spyro, causing him to roar in agony. Kaos watched with that smirk still on his face. Spyro reeled from the pain. When the electricity came to a stop, his legs were released and he collapsed.

"Well, that was dramatic." Kaos looked back to see that Glumshanks had returned with a cup of tea.

"You'd best not ruin this for me, Glumshanks," Kaos growled.

"Wouldn't dream of it, sir."

The mist from before made a reappearance and the large glass capsule emerged from the floor. Spyro struggled to stand back up. "Wha... w-what...?"

**"Behold!"** Kaos cried. "The creature that will bring Skylands to it's knees and burn it's protectors to a pile of ashes!" Before the door to the capsule could even think about opening, the glass completely shattered. A shadow burst upwards and perched on a high up pole. It spread it's wings and showed it's pointed teeth menacingly.

_**"Dark Spyro!"**_

* * *

((They _finally _announced what their doing with the Sidekicks! Not to mention that they're introducing a bunch more! Drobit is flippin' **adorable!))**


	3. Chapter 3

((Okay, I know that this isn't Dark Spyro's real back story (officially, he's a form the Spyro takes when exposed to dark energy) but there are a _lot _of back stories in the Skylanders franchise that I don't like and/or will change for this story. This is just the first of many. ...Actually, the _first _was Stealth Elf's Master being dead. So technically, this is the second.))

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Dark Spyro was a sight to behold, standing with his large wings out and teeth bared. Yes, he looked like Spyro, but somehow he also didn't at the same time. He had a longer wingspan than Spyro and teeth sharper than daggers. His crimson eyes showed intimidatingly in the darkness with vertical slits for pupils. His horns, chest, claws and tail were all a slick shade of silver, and his jet black scales blended in with the shadows.

Spyro stared up at his clone in confusion and pain. "I-It's..." He struggled to force the words out. "...me?"

Kaos cackled like he always does when things are going his way, leaping out of his chair. "Yes! Yes! It really worked!" he exclaimed.

"I'm just as surprised as you are, master," Glumshanks said. "But now the question is, will it do what you say?"

"Finally, a minion that's powerful and not completely incompetent!" Kaos totally ignored his butler. "After years of seeing flunkey upon flunkey defeated by those Skylame-os! After creating dozens of dark replicas of them with my own powers, without nearly enough strength to even stand a chance! _Finally _a creature capable of destroying the Skylanders once and for all!" He shot his hand into the air. **"Dark Spyro!" **The shadowy dragon's gaze flicked over to his creator. "Kill him."

Spyro swallowed as his dark doppelganger set sights on him and smirked. Dark's wings floated up, then shot down, propelling him up. In mere seconds- no, milliseconds -he landed directly in front of his original. A low growl emerged from Spyro's throat as they circled each other for a few moments. Eventually Dark took a step forward. He examined Spyro head to tail, then darkly uttered his first word- "Run."

Spyro took heed to this and stormed up as fast as his wings could carry him. Dark laughed ominously before shooting a powerful ball of blue fire. It missed... barely. Spyro perched on a windowsill and shot down three fireballs. However,since he was so tired, his aim was horribly off and Dark only had to tilt his head slightly to the left to avoid it. Spyro grumbled at this. He tried to think up a quick strategy, and leaped off of the ledge. He didn't even attempt to fly; that wasn't his plan. He instead landed with such force that the impact sent out a shock wave. It knocked Kaos into his throne and spilled Glumshanks' tea, but Dark was smart enough to jump. The landing had drained any possible energy that Spyro had left, and he fell over. Dark grabbed him by the horn and tossed him onto his back. Spyro groaned as Dark set a foot on his stomach in triumph. "It's a shame that I have to do this while you're in this weakened state..." Dark muttered, running his claw across Spyro's scales. "...I would have preferred a real fight." He raised his claws, flashed a toothy grin, and gashed Spyro's belly open.

Kaos was on the edge of his seat laughing as Spyro cried out. "Ha ha! This is the best thing since Malefore's takeover!" he said. "Glumshanks, go make me some popcorn!"

"Damn it, blood is so hard to clean..." the Troll complained.

Spyro rolled onto his side, still moaning from the pain as blood trickled out of his open wound. "Defeated by... myself..." he choked. "Sunburn was... he was right... It was a trap... and... and I fell... right... into it..."

"You were a fool," Dark accused, sitting down next to his injured opponent. "To think that one silly mistake could lead to such a tragic downfall. But, stupidity always has fatal consequences..." He was examining his bloodied hand. It wasn't his own blood, of course. "Luckily I didn't get any of that stupidity." He turned back to Spyro. "Luckily for _me, _of course_. _Not necessarily for you." He stood back up. "Light's Out!"

Spyro knew that he couldn't fight back. He could barely even move. All he could do is pray that Sunburn would do a good job in his place and brace for his impending death. But just as Dark was about to deliver the killing blow, just as the second step in Kaos' ultimate plan was about to follow through...

Trigger Happy burst through the window.

He tackled Dark Spyro, latched onto him and started punching him in the face. "Die, evil Spyro!" he cried. "Die!"

"Damn it!" Kaos roared, getting out of his seat. "Don't you annoying Skylosers know how to use the door?!"

Then Sunburn flew through another one.

"Seriously?!"

Sunburn glanced at Trigger Happy and his efforts to subdue Dark, then went over to Spyro and looked at his injury. "Spyro, I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner..." he began.

"Just fix the h-hole in my stomach!"

Sunburn clenched his teeth. "Should have brought Whirlwind..." he muttered. "It's really bad, but I may be able to stop the bleeding... y'know, temporarily."

"Do whatever it t-takes..."

**"Get off!"** Dark Spyro flung Trigger Happy into a wall. Trigg shook himself off and rubbed his head, only to be pinned down. "On a scale of one to ten," the clone growled. "how much pain do you want to feel right now?"

Trigg swallowed. "Uh... zero?"

"Wrong answer!"

Sunburn blasted Dark with a flamethrower beam before he could hurt their gremlin friend. "Levae him alone, you frickin' faker!"

"Hurry up..." Spyro coughed.

"Ah! Sorry!" Sunburn was attempting to stop Spyro's bleeding by taking his own feathers and applying them to the wound. "This should work until we get to Woodburrow. Can you fly?"

Spyro slowly stood up, stumbling in the process. "Does it _look _like I can fly?"

"Good point," Sunburn said. "I'll carry you."

"What about T-Trigger Happy?"

"He can ride on my back, like he did on the way here."

"Can you do both?"

"Hey, I work out!"

Then Trigg ran screaming in their direction as Dark was unleashing a fury of blue fireballs on him. "Go go go!" the gunslinger exclaimed, hopping on Sunburn's back. "Let's get out of here!"

Sunburn grumbled. "Alright, I guess we're leaving now!" He scooped up Spyro and took off as fast as possible (through another window).

"Oh, c'mon!" Kaos cried. "Dark Spyro, go after them!" But Dark didn't obey. Instead, he stood completely still, watching the Skylanders fly away with a devilish smirk. Kaos took a couple steps forward in order to confront his new minion. "Dark Spyro, I _command _you to go after them!"

Dark frowned as he looked back at the Evil Portal Master. "If I let them go, Spyro will have a chance to heal," he said. "So the next time I fight him, he'll be at full power. He'll put up a real fight."

Kaos growled. "Listen here, fool..." He held up the "DOOM" remote. "I am your master. I created you, and I can destroy you with the push of a button. So the next time I tell you to go after the Skylanders, you go after the Skylanders! Do you understand?"

Dark snarled, then went back you a straight face. "Of course," he replied flatly. "...'master.'"

* * *

Spyro made it back to Woodburrow in one piece. Everybody wanted to hear what happened, but Whirlwind had forbidden him from story telling until his injury was properly taken care of. She washed it, used her rainbow and unicorn powers for as much good that could do, slapped a big band-aid on it and wrapped bandages all the way around his stomach and back. Once they were done with that, Whirl assured everybody that although he had lost quite a bit of blood, Spyro was going to be fine. This caused several sighs of relief.

"Sunburn and Trigger Happy told us what went down," Hot Dog told their leader. "You should really be more careful, sir."

Spyro nodded. "I know. It was stupid of me to do that, and even stupider to do so with so much confidence."

"So baldy has a cloning machine now, huh?" Roller Brawl said.

"But really, why would he need something like that?" Ghost Roaster questioned. "He can already create dark versions of us without any need for a machine."

"This one was different," Spyro said. "like nothing we've ever faced before. 'Dark Spyro' he called it. It was just as powerful as me!"

"Looks like it was stronger than you." Fryno pointed to his wound.

Spyro scowled. "The machine weakened me. That's the only reason he almost won." He sighed. "Look, he's up to something big this time. Not like manipulating Pop Fizz. Not like wiping the memories of Jet-Vac and the others. He's sure that this time he can defeat us and conquer Skylands."

"So what do you suggest we do, sir?" Hot Dog asked.

Spyro paused. This was more than most of the new recruits could handle. This may be more than what some of the veteran heroes could handle. But there was no avoiding it. "All I know... is that we have to be ready. We need to prepare for anything."

* * *

((I'm out things to say. I'm going to go see How to Train your Dragon 2!))


	4. Chapter 4

((Sorry! Sorry for the wait! I had writer's block! As in, _bad _writer's block. Oh hey, you got Trap Team yet? I don't. I pre-ordered it! But I do have Wildfire! Sitting on a shelf. Waiting. I think I'll get Jawbreaker next. Also, why the heck is _Nitro Krypt King _a thing?))

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Dark Spyro slithered up to the very top of Kastle Kaos. From there, he could see over the entire area. There was a lot to see, but it looked extremely... depressing, to say the least. Under Kaos' rule, this small (very small) area in Skylands was completely covered in darkness.

...but, it could be darker.

Skylands is a great world full of powerful magic, and guarded by the greatest defenders ever known. But it also has an offender just as powerful, and I'm not talking about Kaos. From the bloody red eyes of Dark, who was quite possibly one of the strongest creature in all of Skylands, it was vulnerable. Vulnerable, but threatened only by an incompetent child who couldn't defeat a hyperactive gremlin with a gun.

It was time for a new and improved villain. One who was _actually _capable of causing fear and destruction. Someone who was smart, strong, looked rather dashing in black, and knew the secrets and weaknesses of each and every Skylander.

There was no better choice than the shadowy dragon with crimson eyes, standing with a menacing smirk at the top of Kastle Kaos.

* * *

On the brighter side of Skylands, the heroic Spyro of whom we've come to know and love was watching over Woodburrow from the top of the mushroom staircase as the sun rose off in the distance. Freeze Blade had decided to start off his class at the crack of dawn, much to his three students' annoyance. They had gathered in their normal place by Snagglescale's arena and were working on projectile attacks.

"Slam Bam, Chill, and Zap..." Spyro spoke his thoughts aloud. He smiled. "Sometimes I question Master Eon's choices." Then his somewhat cheerful expression faded. "That thing... it was really something else. Kaos could cause some real trouble with that machine. _Real _trouble."

He paused as the sound of footsteps echoed from the staircase, and soon Sunburn made a not-so-grand entrance. "Spyro?" he questioned. "What... uh, what're ya doing?"

Spyro shook his head. "I don't even know anymore, Sunburn..." he grumbled in response. "What... what are we even doing? How are we supposed to fight this guy if... if he's me? He's me, Sunburn!"

The phoenix tilted his head. "Fighting some powerful crap never stopped us from beating up the Hydra. Or Kaos. Or his mom."

"This is different!" Spyro exclaimed. Sunburn flinched. "This is... I... I don't know what this is..." Then the air was momentarily silent, aside from the hushed crickets chirping below. "What do you think it is?"

The words were caught in his throat. Spyro had a tendency to feel all of his emotions _very _drastically. For example, he got... er, abnormally angry (enraged is a better choice of words) when Stealth Elf switched bodies with him. He's normally pretty docile, because he's confident in himself and his team. But this kind of situation, where the stakes are high, the anxiety and frustration were getting to his head.

"Spyro..." Sunburn managed to say. "Sir, you're over thinking this! There's one of him and, like, a hundred of us!"

"There's seventy-two of us," the leader grumbled. "Fifty-six of us normal Skylanders and sixteen Swappers." A scowl came across his face as he muttered, "Sure would be nice if those Trap Masters hadn't ditched us and taken another half of us with them..."

Sunburn growled at this remark. "The Trap Team didn't ditch us, they had to watch over the Cloudcracker Prison! And that half of us that went with them made that choice themselves."

A low growl formed in Spyro's throat.

Sunburn flinched.

"Whatever." That's a word that the mighty dragon rarely said. "Just... do something. I have to go think."

He flew off, leaving his second-in-command to wonder whether he should be sympathetic or infuriated. "He's... going crazy."

"Sure is." Sunburn sighed. It totally wasn't a surprise anymore. Stealth Elf appeared behind him, leaned against the tree trunk. "Hiya, hot stuff."

"What in Eon's name urged you to say that?"

"Dunno." They approached the edge of the staircase, where Spyro had been sitting before. "Y'know, if he does go crazy, you'll be the leader of the Skylanders."

Sunburn nodded. "I know." he responded. "Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Stealth gave a chuckle. "I could never be the leader of this sorry group of freaks."

"No kidding."

She smacked him across the beak. "Ha ha. You're hilarious."

"Owie..."

"But seriously. Fix Spyro."

Sunburn shook his head. "Easier said than done, elf girl," he glumly remarked. "I think the only way to... er, 'fix him' is to destroy that clone.

"Well then," Sunburn sometimes wished that he could tell if Stealth was smiling or not. "what are you waiting around for? Go beat up the jerk, tough guy."

Well, he sure knew that he was smiling. "Your right. Spyro's counting on me." He looked out over Woodburrow again and saw Chill accidentally hit Slam-Bam in the face. "They all need me."

"Great! Keep up that good attitude."

That kind of sentence was usually Stealth Elf's cue to leave. Sunburn knew that. He whipped around. "W-Wait! Stealth, I've been meaning to ask you-" Too late. She had already vanished. He grumbled. "...something..."

* * *

Dark Spyro slunk into Kaos' throne room, so silent that nobody noticed at all. He saw that Kaos was growling about the best way to destroy the Skylosers once and for all, while Glumshanks provided some thought-out suggestions that his master spat back in his face. Dark hid himself in the shadows for a moment or two to eavesdrop.

"But sir, wouldn't it be best for us to come up with a tactical strategy-?"

"Foolish servant! Everybody knows the only way to win a war is through the use of sheer, brute force!"

Kaos is an idiot.

Dark gave a very low grumble. It was shameful to be surrounded by such lame excuses for "evil villains." Hell, Dark is literally a clone of the _leader _of the most _perfect _team of heroes the world has to offer, and he was far more diabolical than this bald lunatic. No wonder the Skylanders defeat him at every turn. He's. An. Idiot.

He slithered into the light, still not drawing any attention. At least, until he firmly stated, "Hey, baldy."

Kaos and his butler winced, only to ease up when they realized it was Dark. "Oh, it's you," Kaos growled. "What do you want, Dark Spyro? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Dark gave him a crimson glare. "Busy with what? Constructing bloody schemes that will end in your own demise?" He smirked. "I find that interrupting your little plotting session may have saved your life."

Kaos pulled himself out of his throne in order to frown down upon his creation. "I find it best you not criticize me, slave."

The dragon kept a steady gaze. "I'm no slave. I could capture and sell you if I wanted to. Problem is, I wouldn't make much loot off of it."

Glumshanks watched with wide eyes as his master clenched a fist and conked his minion in the head. "Kneel before Lord Kaos, fool, for it is_ I_ who could capture and sell you!" He pulled out the remote that he used to operate his machine. "Not to mention destroy you with the push of a button!"

Half a second later, Dark thrashed the remote with his tail, smashing it into a million little useless pieces.

Kaos gaped at this. "Um... uh-oh."

Dark, feeling rather pleased with himself, turned his head upwards and shot a blue fire blast at the ceiling. The inferno spread quickly. _Very quickly. _"Now, I'm going to give you a choice; you can leave before I count to three... or _burn."_

Glumshanks grabbed his master arm and tugged. "Sir, I think this is a good time to flee."

"One..."

"What?!" cried Kaos. "And leave my castle to burn?! I could never!"

"Two..."

"Sir, it's the castle or your life. Which one is more important?"

Kaos paused for a moment. That moment was a bit too long.

"Three!"

"Life. Definitely my life."

So they escaped the building in a small airship before they could become charcoal.

Dark sneered as he crawled past his flames, broke through the roof and perched back on the top of the castle. All of Kaos' minions were evacuating. Perfect. **"Attention, miserable creatures both organic and mechanic..." **All gazes turned to him when he spoke. **"You should know that your terrible leader **_**Kaos **_**is no longer is command here." **He grinned. **"I am. And you will bow before the all-mighty **_**Dark Spyro... **_**who will finally lead you to victory in your war against the Skylanders."**

* * *

((Oh hey, The Skylander Boy and Girl made a video analyzing the Trap Team collection vault! And may I just say- **called it! **Elite Stealth Elf is totally a thing!))


	5. Chapter 5

((Guess who got Trap Team! ...and has one level left to go. I'm not going anywhere near that last level until I get the Kaos Trap. Yeah, don't expect to see any Trap Masters until the fourteenth story. But, as for the villains, we may be seeing them very soon...))

* * *

**Chapter 5**

It was around noon in Woodburrow, probably a little earlier than that. The sun was a fair height in the sky. It spread a warm light across the village. Spyro had found a sunny spot in one of the courtyards to lay down in. He was having a rather peaceful nap, away from the ruckus of the SWAP Force's classes. It was nice to just relax and not think about all the trouble that he and his team were in.

"Spyro! Spyro, sir!"

Never mind.

Hot Dog's voice pierced the silence, causing the Magic dragon to grumpily awaken. "Sir," Hot Dog prodded Spyro with his paw. "Sir, I have an important report..."

"Ugh, what is it, Hot Dog?" Spyro grumbled. "Whirlwind told me to rest my injury."

"It's from Terrafin's border patrol." Spyro didn't like the tone in his messenger's voice. "They found a Greeble airship a few miles off."

Spyro's eyes narrowed. "Kaos." He stood up and stretched, careful not to hurt him stomach, then instructed, "Find Sunburn and Trigger Happy. Tell them to guard the gates."

"What about you?"

"I'll catch up," the leader assured him, feeling his bloodstained bandages. "Just go."

"Yes, sir."

Before he could do anything, Spyro had to visit Whirlwind again. The bandages had to be removed, then the wound had to be washed (pain, lots of pain) and bandaged again. He thanked his nurse and left to join Sunburn and Trigg. When he reached the gate, however, he was met with a surprise...

"What the hell?!" Spyro exclaimed.

"Spyro!" Trigg cried. "Hey, look who decided to show up!"

It was Kaos and Glumshanks- tied up. Glumshanks looked terrified, but it didn't seem to be because he was surrounded by Skylanders. And then there was Kaos, who- as usual -looked angry. But wait... was there some fear mixed into that expression. "Hello, Skyloser leader..." Kaos growled.

Spyro's reaction wasn't talking; it was shooting fire at Kaos' feet. **"What do you think you're doing here?!" **he roared.

"Ah!" Kaos scooted away from the flames as Sunburn put them out with his tail. "Simmer down. I'm not here to fight you, I'm here to... eh..."

"What?" Spyro stated firmly. He was clearly not in the mood for funny buissness.

Kaos was hesitating. Whatever he was attempting to say, he clearly didn't want to say it.

"Master, please," Glumshanks pleaded. "We can't afford to waste time."

Kaos sighed. "Fine. Whatever. I need your... h-he-hu... _assistance, _Skylanders."

Surprise! The most evil and independent villain in all of Skylands was asking for help from his archenemies. The shock was certainly apparent on the Skylanders' faces. Wide eyes and dropped jaws (Trigger Happy's tongue was lolling out). "W-Wait, seriously?" Sunburn questioned. "You need our help?" Kaos nodded grimly. "Why?"

There was a short pause before Kaos responded. "It's Dark Spyro," he eventually said, a harsh tone coming to his voice. "It drove me away and burned my awesome castle to the ground. Won't listen do a thing I say.

Trigg gave you (yes, you) a sarcastic look. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Can't you make him self-destruct?" Spyro asked.

"Yeah, go boom!" Trigg added, turning his attention away from the reader (adios, fourth wall).

"Of course I could!" Kaos snapped. "But it destroyed my controller. There's nothing I can do..."

Spyro shook his head. "Untie them." he ordered.

"You trust them?" Sunburn challenged.

Spyro thought about this. He didn't think very long. "Yes," he replied. "Now untie them."

So they did.

Kaos stood up and dusted himself off. "Ugh, gave me a rope burn..." he muttered.

Glumshanks bowed to them rather formally. "We can't thank you enough, Spyro," he said.

Spyro smiled just a little. "Well, it is our job to protect Skylands from evil. And right now, Dark is the biggest threat."

Kaos snorted. "I'm a plenty big threat. I'm an **AWESOME **threat! And if you ask me, one 'thank you' is more than enough."

"Stealth Elf bows like that," Trigg pointed out.

"It's a Japanese thing," Sunburn replied.

"Glumshanks is Japanese?"

"He probably just studies the culture."

After asking Kaos and his butler a few questions about exactly what happened, Spyro turned back to his Skylanders. "Gather a few of the stronger Cores and bring them here. Pull them out of their classes if you have to. We need a battle plan."

Trigger Happy raised his hand.

"Seriously, don't do that. Just speak."

"What do you mean 'stronger cores?'" Trigg asked.

Spyro sighed. "The not-Swappers that kick ass."

"Oh. So elf girl and Whirlie?"

"Sure."

Sunburn and Trigger Happy stormed away in opposite directions. Kaos blinked, then slowly began inching backwards. "Yeah. So, uh... I'll be over here..."

Spyro quickly shot a menacing glare at him. "Oh no you don't. You got us into this, and you're going to help us get out."

Kaos cringed at the angered shine in Spyro's red eyes. Then he recalled that this was a Skylander, and he hissed, "You're not the boss of me, dragon!"

Glumshanks, knowing that it wasn't his place to get involved in this, took several paces back. Spyro unfolded his wings and stood as tall as he possibly could. Despite being taller than the dragon, Kaos still felt kind of small and helpless here. "As long as you're here," Spyro growled. "I _am _the boss of you."

Kaos gaped for a moment, then looked away nervously. "Fine. Whatever," he grumbled. "But only because I want my castle back."

With this response, Spyro lightened up. "Good. Now, where are Sunburn and Trigger Happy?"

Glumshanks raised an eyebrow. "They only left a couple minutes ago..."

* * *

A long ways away, a few Trolls wearing Firemen Hats and holding hoses were putting out the last of the flames around Kastle Kaos, which Dark had promptly renamed "Dark Palace."

"Good job, Trolls!" Noodles shouted. "Put your equipment back where it belongs while I give a progress report to Lord Dark." The Trolls saluted as he marched away.

He pushed open the charred doors and entered the throne room. Bunches of Greebles were removing the burnt portraits of Kaos and painting murals of Dark in their place. "Lord Dark!" Noodles called as he approached his new master.

The throne turned, slowly and ominously, to reveal Dark Spyro sitting and looking rather bored. He was wearing a distinctly vampire-like cape. It had a bold collar, was black on the outside and red on the inside. "What is it servant?"

Noodles swallowed. There were rumors going around, saying that looking directly into Dark's eyes could kill you. Yes, this sounds like total baloney, but they did seem to be missing a few staff members. "I-I-I just wanted to g-give you a s-status report..." He was looking at Dark's mouth. "The T-Trolls have extinguished the last of your f-f-fire..."

Dark Spyro smirked. "Good, good..." he chuckled. "Now I can continue with my to-do list. **PIPSQUEAK!"**

The little cyclops ran into the throne room, carrying a piece of paper. He bowed, then handed the paper to his master. "The list, uh... your majesty."

Dark snatched the list. "Leave us."

"Of course, my lord."

Noodles watched intently as Dark produced a large pen from inside his cape and began reading from the list. "Let's see here... kick out Kaos, check. Put out the fire, check. Have a hot cup of coffee..." Noodles noticed a shattered mug on the ground next to the throne. "...check." The paper incinerated. "Now all I have to do is destroy the Skylanders."

"You'll, uh... need a plan, sir..." said Noodles.

Dark snarled at him. "You think I don't know that?"

Noodles choked. "N-N-No sir! I-I mean, yes sir! I-I-I mean... whatever the right answer is, s-sir!"

Dark's smirk became apparent again. "That's what I like to hear. Now, we'll have to get their attention... hm..." He snapped his fingers. ...claws. "Servant!"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Scatter troops all over Cloudbreak," Dark commanded.

Noodles raised an eyebrow. "Er, I beg your forgiveness for asking this, sire, but... why?"

"Because," Dark responded. "It's a _distraction._ Now when you're done with that, organize more powerful troops to confront-"

"The dragon?" Noodles guessed.

Dark frowned. "Spyro. Yes. Now go!"

Noodles saluted. "Yes, master!" And then he left.

* * *

It took almost an hour for Trigger Happy and Sunburn to return, which was a good thing in one way. It gave Spyro time to think. They had brought back some good choices- Terrafin, Jet-Vac, Gill Grunt, and Whirlwind (Stealth Elf was nowhere to be found). But they also brought a few questionable ones- Pop Fizz, Hot Dog, CountDown, Roller Brawl, the last of whom had been recruited only a few months prior. Spyro decided to wait a moment before addressing them. Glumshanks was conversing with Sunburn about tea and Kaos was making googly eyes at Roller Brawl. She obviously didn't like that.

Eventually Spyro silenced them. He explained Kaos' presence and what Dark had done. "Any ideas?" he asked asfter stating that they needed a batle plan.

"I say we just go there!" CountDown exclaimed. "Let's show 'em who's boss!"

Hot Dog shook his head. "Isn't that a bit straightforward? He could be expecting that. What if we wait for him to strike first?"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Terrafin growled. "Hot Dog, when was the last time you were even on a mission? I'm with CountDown. Let's just find him and punch him in the gut."

Kaos scowled as everybody (minus Whirlwind) started arguing loudly. "These fools seem pretty hopeless..." he muttered.

"They're not the best problem solvers," Spyro admitted.

Trigger Happy's ear twitched in response to the noise. He gritted his teeth and yelled, "SHUT UP!" That really did shut them up. "You people are so obnoxious! Can't you see that this is a matter of life and death?! Get along for five freaking minutes and come up with an _actual _plan! Is that so much to ask?!"

Everybody blinked. Even Kaos knew that was an extremely out of character thing for Trigger Happy to do.

"Okay..." Spyro said. "Er, thanks, Trigg..."

Trigg flashed a toothy smile. "You're welcome!"

"Well, now that we've calmed down," Spyro continued. "who can come up with a plan that _won't _start a flam war?"

"Does he even know what a flame war is?" Pop Fizz whispered to Roller Brawl, who shrugged.

Everybody seemed to be drawing a blank, either that or they were afraid that Trigg would scream at them again. It didn't really matter though, because moments later the meeting was inturrupted.

"Skylanders!" Tessa called, pushing her way through the crowd. She had volunteered to be messenger while Hot Dog was busy.

"Tessa?" Spyro questioned as the fox girl approached. "What's the matter?"

"Reports!" Tessa replied, frantically shoving papers into Spyro's hands. "Lots and lots of reports! Just look!"

Spyro sifted through the papers. "Iron Jaw Gulch? Mudwater Hollow? Oh come on, Fantasm Forest is on fire _again?!" _He handed the reports back to Tessa. "Gill Grunt."

"Yessir?"

"Clean up, aisle Fantasm."

Gill Grunt nodded, understanding exactly what this meant. Kaos had set Fantasm Forest on fire on several occasions, and he was always the one to put it out. "Sure thing, Spyro!" The gillman casually hummed a tune to himself as he walked out the gate, like is ain't no thing.

"Tessa, have Sharpfin take Fryno to Iron Jaw Gulch to check out what's going on there."

Tessa bowed. "Of course."

"Does _everybody _study Japanese culture?" Trigg questioned.

"Seems like," Sunburn replied.

Spyro turned back to Kaos. "Do you have another way to work the cloning machine besides that remote?"

"Ha! Of course not!" Kaos laughed. Then he froze. "Wait, I totally do." At least half of the people there fell over anime-style. "There's a dashboard that can control it as well, but even if it's still standing, there's no way Dark Spyro will let me anywhere near it."

Spyro nodded. "It's our only shot. Trigger Happy, I need you to go grab a jar."

"A jar?"

"A jar."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

"Okay then!"

"Alright team, listen up," Spyro called. "A few of you are going to be fixing up Cloudbreak, but the rest of us are going to Kastle Kaos. Or, whatever's left of it. I'll fill you in on the plan on the Dreadyacht. Any questions?"

Roller Brawl raised her hand.

Spyro sighed. "Yes, Roller Brawl?"

She pointed at Kaos. "Does he _have _to be here?"

* * *

It wasn't long before the Dreadyacht was making it's way through the stormy clouds surrounding the dark side of Skylands. They had dropped off a few of the others on different islands, most notably CountDown, who had a thing or two to say about not being included on the real mission. Now there were only a few of them left. Despite this, there was still more than enough of them to follow through with Spyro's plan.

While Flynn rambled on with false tales of his heroics, Spyro kept his word and informed his party of the plan. However, he didn't give many details. At all. Terrafin got angry over this, but soon decided that it wasn't worth it. "It should only take me, Trigger Happy and Kaos to carry out Phase B," Spyro continued. "so Sunburn," The phoenix looked up. It appeared that he had been daydreaming. "I need you to lead Phase A, understood?"

Sunburn processed this, then started nodding furiously. "Of course! That's exactly what I'll do!"

Wow, Spyro is a pretty good leader," Glumshanks said. "Everybody respects him and follows his instruction without question."

"Oh please," Kaos rolled his eyes. "don't make me laugh. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ahem. Too late. The only _real _way to make your minions respect you is to demand respect! Strike fear into their wimpy little hearts!" He snorted. "I can _not _believe that there is any evil in this loser dragon at all."

Glumshanks shook his head. "The way he looked at you earlier, I can."

"Hey, Skylanders! ...and Kaos," Flynn called. "We're just about there. Time to get your game faces on! BOOM!"

Kaos rushed to the edge of the airship to get a better view. "Yes, my castle is still here! Charcoaled, but still here!"

Spyro smiled. "Good! That means we have a chance. Trigger Happy, you got that jar?"

Trigg nodded and pulled off the yellow backpack he was wearing. There was a glass container with a brass lid inside. "Ready to go, Spyro!"

"Alright! Bring us down, Flynn!"

The pilot slowed down his ship. "We are now approaching Kastle Kaos, a seriously depressing place that has recently gotten new management!" He parked loudly a few yards away from the door. "Last stop, everybody off."

Pop Fizz peered over the railing. "Yep, those are guards if I've ever seen 'em." There were several different kinds of Trolls standing beside the double-doors, grumbling and pointing at the ship.

Sunburn flew onto the ground below. "Right. Pop Fizz! Terrafin! Roller Brawl! You're up."

"Woo-hoo! My first real mission!" Roller Brawl exclaimed when she leaped off of the Dreadyacht.

"I'd say that this is my five-hundredth." Terrafin cracked his knuckles. "Let's show her how it's done, Pop Fizz!"

Sunburn shook his head. "Not until I say." One of the Trolls shouted and charged at them, soon followed by the rest. "Okay. Go!"

Trigger Happy was gleefully mimicking Terrafin's punches as the three Skylanders took the Trolls head-on. "Ooh, sucker punch! Get em! Get em!"

Although Terrafin was seriously attempting to be the center of attention, Spyro was more intently watching Roller Brawl fight. "She's fast," he uttered. "and strong. Good, good. I knew we made the right choice recruiting her." He shook himself. "Trigg, Kaos. It's our turn."

"About time," Kaos grumbled.

"Already?" Trigg questioned. "Okay! Let's go!"

"W-Wait!" Glumshanks exclaimed, stopping Spyro when he started to leave. "What should I do?"

Spyro exchanged glances with Kaos, who obviously didn't care and followed Trigg off of the ship. "Um..." the dragon said. "You can be the lookout."

Glumshanks appeared to be somewhat disappointed, but more relieved that he wasn't doing anything dangerous. "Oh, okay Spyro." Then he pointed forward and shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

Spyro ducked as a missile hurdled over his head and crashed into one of the castle walls. "Huh," he gasped. "Missile Maulers. Thanks, Glumshanks."

He flashed a smile.

Spyro flapped his wings and glided over the chaos that was the fighting. Trigg and Kaos were waiting for him at the door. "This is completely ridiculous!" Kaos was growling. "These are _my _minions! They should be obeying _me!"_

"Oh, relax!" Trigg said. "We'll get your stuff back! Just follow Spyro's plan!"

Kaos scowled. "It's annoying how cheerful you are."

Spyro landed next to them. "Alright, you two know the signal, right?" They nodded. He turned back to Sunburn, who was scorching a Trollverine. "You got this?" Spyro asked.

Sunburn nodded. "We'll be waiting for you out here."

Spyro smiled. "Then let's do this!" They pushed the doors open and stormed into the throne room. They were ambushed by a cyclops, which Trigger Happy shot in the face. Besides that, the room seemed to be completely empty. The Portal seemed to be totally calm, like it hadn't been used recently. Spyro glanced around, trying to find something, _anything _that could give some clue as to where Dark could be. _Where are you? _"Trigg," he said. "Can you smell him?"

"He smells the same as you," Trigg replied grimly.

"If he isn't here..." Kaos began.

But before he could continue, he was cut off by a loud voice echoing through the room. "Oh, I'm here," it boomed. "and quite frankly, I'm surprised that you are." It was Dark, alright, but the echo made it impossible to tell where he was. "I see that you didn't fall for my trap, Spyro. You must have become less gullible since my creation. If you want to know, I was planning on you leaving to confront my troops so I could burn down Woodburrow. Maybe kill a few of your friends in the process. Oh well." Spyro's lips curled back, but Dark continued before he could retort. "Please, you know the only useful ones are Sunburn and elf girl."

Spyro snapped. "Only useful ones?! Sunburn and Stealth Elf are two of the most powerful, sure, but not the _only useful ones! _What about Whirlwind?"

"She's a decent healer," Dark admitted. "but powerful? Heh. She can save as many winter villages from eternal darkness as she wants, but that won't make her strong."

"What about Gill Grunt?" Spyro challenged.

"What does he do, put out wildfires? You could replace him with a fire extinguisher! Call me when his cannon can pierce steel."

"And Terrafin?"

"Rash. His anger controls his actions. Elf girl seriously needs to teach him meditation."

Spyro scowled. "What about Trigger Happy?"

There was a short pause. "Hmph. He's useless without those guns. All unarmed gremlins are useless."

A shadow swooped across the ceiling as Dark Spyro finally decided to reveal himself. He landed a few feet away from them directly in front of the Portal. He was still wearing the stupid cape. Trigg waved to him. "Hi, scary Spyro!"

Dark narrowed his eyes. "I just insulted you."

"So?"

Dark shook his head.

"You! **You!**" Kaos roared. Dark turned to him. "Not only did you kick me out of my own home, but you also ruined the walls with your ridiculous paintings _and _raided my wardrobe! How dare you! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Dark still looked to be bored. "You have a lot of nerve coming back here." He smirked. "Though I should thank you. Now I can finish off you and Spyro. Kill two birds with one stone. In fact, I think I'll also get your team outside. **Guards!"**

At his beckoning call, four Goliath Drow emerged from the hallways. "Yes, Lord Dark," one of them growled.

"Oh, c'mon!" Kaos exclaimed.

"Take Kaos and Trigger Happy," Dark demanded, removing his cape. "I want Spyro all to myself."

"Funny," Spyro said. "I was just about to say the same thing."

They charged at each other, causing Trigger Happy to laugh. "He he! They're just like bulls."

"Ahem."

He looked up to see the Drow staring down at him. "Oh, hi!" he said. "Go do your part, Kaos. I'll take care of there guys." But Kaos had already fled to his station. "Oh. Well, I guess you're a step or two ahead of me." He pointed one of his guns at the Drow. "Okay! Ready! Fight now!"

Dark shot a raging blue fireball at Spyro, which he leaped right over. Spyro rammed into him and they locked horns with one another. "Huh," he choked, realizing that his stomach was bleeding again. "I never knew that my evil side was this... evil!"

His clone chuckled and slammed Spyro onto his side. "Heh. I got all of the power and none of the remorse."

Spyro got back onto his feet and shook himself off. "I don't doubt it," he grumbled. "Hey, would you hate me if I quoted Terrafin?"

"I already hate you." Dark looked at him suspiciously.

"No harm done, then!" Spyro grinned. He bounded over to Dark and took a position like a dog that wants to play. "Okay, here I go..." Dark was confused. "'Hey, are you hungry?'" He had lowered his voice to sound more like Terrafin. "'Here, have a knuckle sandwich!'" When he least expected it, Spyro punched Dark in the jaw.

It was hilarious.

Dark roared. "What the %$ &?!" Spyro was still laughing. "Since when do you fight dirty?!"

Spyro snickered. "I saw Terrafin pull a similar stunt on one of your guards. I figured that it would, well, catch you off guard!"

Dark rubbed his jawbone. "It worked. But don't think I'll fall for something stupid again!"

Spyro tackled him. They tumbled across the floor until he managed to pin Dark. "I don't know about that," Spyro said. "I think you just might."

With a glare, Dark thrashed his tail and hit Spyro's injury. He slithered out from under him when he reeled back. "Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that there's a gaping flesh wound in your belly. All I've got it a bite mark from that annoying Trigger Happy."

Spyro looked up. It was true, there was red, still bleeding wound on one of Dark's front legs. "Heh heh... speaking of 'that annoying Trigger Happy,' looks like your guards aren't doing so good over there."

"Eh?"

Trigg had already knocked out one of the Goliath Drow and was making quick work of the other three. He was too quick for them to catch him, and could blast them from afar.

"Ugh..." Dark grumbled. **"HEY! There's a weak point on his left ear!"**

Spyro cringed. _Dang it, I forgot! He knows everything that I know._

A Drow swung at Trigger Happy, but the little gremlin did a back flip to skillfully avoid it. "He he! Can't catch me!" Then another Drow grabbed him from behind. "Oof. Okay, maybe you can."

"Little brat..."

"What's in his backpack?"

"Tug his ear! Tug it!"

The Drow that caught him squeezed his ear and pulled on it. Trigg wailed. "Ooh! Ow! Owie! H-Hey Kaos, could you hurry up over there?"

"Silence, fool!" Kaos snapped. "You're distracting me!" He was standing in front of a dashboard built into the wall. "Ugh, why did I not label these?!" There were a _lot _of buttons and levers, and nothing that even hinted at what they did. "Hm... maybe this one?" He pressed a shiny green button that caused a large ray gun to emerge from the ceiling. "No, it definitely was _not _that one. Maybe it will go away if I press it again...?" Nope! Pressing it again caused the ray to fire out of control in all directions. "Oh for crying out loud..."

"Hey, grab that guy too!" one of the Drow said. Before he could say "Skylosers," Kaos was being held in the air by his cape.

"Let me go! Put me down this instant!" the Portal Master cried.

"Sorry, Old Master," the Drow appologized. "We only listen to New Master now."

Kaos grumbled, only then for the ray gun to shoot the Drow in the back of the head. After it dropped him, Kaos scrambled back over to the dashboard. He pressed buttons frantically until the firing seized and the ray was back in the ceiling. He gave a sigh of relief. "Alright, forty-third time's the charm..." He pressed a red button, which he believed to be the only one he hadn't tried. Eureka! The Portal lowered into the floor and the cloning machine rose up in his place. "Yes! Finally!" he exclaimed. "Skyloser lea- I mean, Spyro! I got it!"

Spyro stood back up and nodded to him. "Hey, Dark Me!" Dark grumpily turned back to his original. Spyro spread his wings and took flight, soaring in circles above Dark. "I bet I'm faster than you!"

Dark clenched his teeth and followed him into the air. "That's impossible."

"Is it?" Things were going just as planned. Toying with the enemy isn't something that Spyro would normally do, but there wasn't much of a choice here. Spyro swooped down and Dark nearly crashed into a wall. "I bet I'm smarter than you!"

Dark growled. "That's also impossible."

"Oh yeah? What's the square root of 62549736?"

Dark blinked and started counting on his fingers. "Er, carry the four... Hey, wait a second! There's no way you know that!"

Spyro shrugged.

"You're really starting to get on my nerves." Dark threw himself into Spyro and set fire to his bandages. The hero was only narrowly able to escape, but he crashed into the ground next to the cloning device in the process. Dark landed on the other side and Spyro tore off his bandages, leaving his wound exposed. "After I kill you," Dark said. "there'll be nobody left to stand in my way. I'll be free to rule Skylands with an iron claw! Maybe I'll change it's name to 'Darklands.' Sounds better, doesn't it?"

Spyro didn't react with wails and begs for mercy like Dark had expected. No, he was laughing. "You really think you can just take over Skylands?"

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah! I mean, you're pretty much at my mercy here. What could you possibly do to stop me?"

"Well, I'm not sure if _I _can stop you," Spyro admitted. "but there are plenty of other people out there who could. I mean, you're unbalanced!"

Dark scowled. "What do you mean, 'unbalanced?'"

Spyro rolled his eyes. "I mean you're unbalanced! There's literally no good inside of you. You're pure evil. Even Kaos has a good side, I've seen it personally!" He smiled. "Trust me, that unbalance will be your downfall."

"Downfall?!" Dark roared. "Let me tell you something, I'm not going to have a downfall. I'm going to rule this world until the end of time, and nobody can stop me!" He leaped onto the cloning device's platform in order to seem more dramatic. "Not even you."

Spyro smirked. He flicked his tail- the signal. Seeing this, Kaos pulled one of the levers on the dashboard. In mere moments, Dark's feet were strapped to the platform. He cringed. "$&%#, I can't believe I didn't see that coming."

Spyro pushed himself back to his feet and brushed himself off. He was only pretending to be defeated. "Yeah, even though I had that experience, _you _didn't. It was easy to lure you here. Hm... learn from your mistakes, I guess."

Trigger Happy struggled out of the Drow's grip and jumped to the top of one of the spikes on the machine.

"All set, Trigg?" Spyro called.

Trigg pulled the jar out of his bag and unscrewed the lid. He gave a thumbs-up. "Yep! All set!"

Dark tried to escape, but his efforts proved to be fruitless. He shouted and shot fire into the air, which Spyro was able to put out by countering with his own flames before it could hit anything. "Argh! You think you can get rid of me just like this?! What do you plan on doing, torturing me? Ha! You could never!"

Spyro shook his head. "You're right, I couldn't."

"Then what is it?!"

"You'll see. Let a rip, Kaos!"

Kaos pulled down another lever and that same violet electricity from before was let loose on Dark. But, it seemed to have a different effect on him. He cried out at a black mist started to emerge from his body- it was vaporizing him. "Y-You..." he managed to say through the agony. "You think that this is over. Heh heh heh... this is only the beginning. I'll return... **I'll return!**" More and more of the black mist rose up into the air, and Trigg carefully collected it into his jar. Soon, the screams faded.

Dark Spyro was no more.

With a smile, Trigger Happy popped the lid back on the jar and slid it back into his pack. He jumped down and gave Spyro a high five. "Now that's what I call a _Wakka-__**POW!" **_he cheered. "Y'know, even if we didn't actually hit him."

"Yeah, I get it, Trigg," Spyro assured him. "Nice job, buddy."

Kaos grumbled as he scooped Dark's cape off of the floor. "Yes, yes, everything's just fine and dandy..." He put the cape on and turned back to them. "Now, get out of _my _castle or meet a doom even more horrifyingly terrible than anything Dark Spyro could have dished out!"

The remaining Drow stomped over to Spyro and Trigg and looked down upon them menacingly. Spyro sighed. "Alright, c'mon Trigg," he started towards the doors, his gremlin friend sticking right behind him. "I have to go see Whirlwind again."

* * *

In the vault below Woodburrow, in an extremely secret containment unit, Trigger Happy was setting Dark's remains on a pedestal. He grinned and hopped out of the unit to join Spyro and Sunburn. Spyro inputted a four digit code and the unit closed up. "That was a pretty good plan, Spyro!" Sunburn praised. "But... how did you know that blasting him with the cloning machine would vaporize him?"

Spyro flashed a smile. "I didn't!" he replied.

Sunburn fell over. "W-W-Wait, r-really? You risked to safety of all Skylands over some unproven theory?!"

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Spyro chuckled. "I wasn't sure if it would vaporize or incinerate him, but I figured it would be one of the two."

"So what do we do now, Spyro?" Trigg asked.

Spyro cocked his head. "Hm... Dark might have sent troops to more islands than just the ones that sent reports. Let's hold a meeting. Sunburn, I want you to make sure that Stealth Elf is there. It's been a while since she did something besides participate in a border patrol."

"Or get captured," Trigg pointed out.

Sunburn stared at his feet. "Stealth Elf. Right. Okay, I'll go look for her."

"What if she's invisible?" Trigg asked.

"I'll listen for her."

Spyro and Trigger Happy locked the vault and returned back to Woodburrow. "Let's get everybody together, Trigg," Spyro said. "I don't want a single Skylander missing."

Before Trigg could respond, their talk was cut off by Roller Brawl and Pop Fizz. "Spyro! Spyro!" Fizz called.

Spyro sighed. "Can't I just carry out a conversation without getting interrupted...?"

"This is important, Spyro," Roller Brawl assured him. "It's Fryno, he came back from Iron Jaw Gulch."

"So?" Trigg raised an eyebrow.

_"So," _Pop Fizz said. "He brought back a _kid _with him!"

Spyro and Trigg's eyes widened. "A kid?"

"A kid!"

"What kind of kid?" Spyro asked.

Pop Fizz and Roller Brawl exchanged glances. "Uh, it's a boy," Roller Brawl said.

"Yeah, and a gremlin!" Fizz added.

Trigg's eyes lit up. "A gremlin kid? Ooh! Spyro, let's go see him!"

"Uh, T-Trigg..." He was already gone. Spyro facepalmed. "Okay, I guess we're going to go see him."

As they left the underhollow, what they didn't notice was a black mist blowing in the wind above them...

**To be continued...**

* * *

((Hm, seems like Dark is pretty determined that **he will return!**

Okay, if I ever take more than a week to update this series again, I want you all to send me PMs screaming at me to get writing. I'm serious, I'm way behind on this series. You may be wondering how I can be quote on quote "behind" on a FanFiction... well, I'll tell you. The sixteenth story is supposed to be a Christmas special. At the rate I'm going, it's going to come out in June.

Hey, can somebody do me a favor and photoshop Gill Grunt's art to look Legendary? I need it for the twenty-first story's thumbnail. Take your time.))


	6. Credits

((The closing for this story was originally going to be "Awake and Alive" by Skillet, but I thought this was a better choice. :3 ))

* * *

**Credits**

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colors any more, I want them to turn black

I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black

With flowers and my love both never to come back

I see people turn their heads and quickly look away

Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black

I see my red door I must have it painted black

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts

It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea gord turn a deeper blue

I could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the setting sun

My love will laugh with me before the morning comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colors any more, I want them to turn black

I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

Hmm, hmm, hmm,..

I wanna see it painted, painted black

Black as night, black as coal

I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky

I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black

Yeah!

Hmm, hmm, hmm...

**Song:**

"Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones

**Next time on Skylanders Short Stories:**

Hey Sunburn, what was that about "that's a story for another time?"


End file.
